Etymology From Middle English grynden, from Old English grindan (“to grind”), from Proto-West Germanic *grindan, from Proto-Germanic *grindaną (“to crush, grind”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian gríende, griene (“to grind, mill”), West Frisian grintsje (“to crush, punish”), Dutch grinden (“to grind”, rare) and grind (“gravel, shingle”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”).
She said, "How'd you like to waste some time?" / And I could not resist when I saw little Nikki grind1984, Prince, “Darling Nikki”, in Purple Rain, performed by Prince and the Revolution:
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Slang To dance in a sexually suggestive way with both partners in very close proximity, often pressed against each other.
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Slang To rub one's body against another's in a sexual way; to frottage.
She wanted to grind herself against him, wanted to moan, loud and free, wanted to take his hand and make him touch her more firmly.2013 February 26, Elizabeth Hoyt, Lord of Darkness: Number 5 in series, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
He ground against her until he was muttering curses, his kiss rougher than before.2016 August 16, Heather McGovern, A Moment of Bliss, Lyrical Press, →ISBN:
2 more examples
She kept grinding until they were both spent: their bliss washing over them entirely.2017 December 17, Becca Fanning, Shifter Royal Dynasty Vol 1 (Royal BBW Bear Shifter Secret Baby Romance Series), Gizmo Media:
This morning, we woke up and made out for a solid forty-five minutes, grinding like teenagers until she came against my thigh.2020 April 7, Laurelin Paige, Claire Contreras, Sierra Simone, Skye Warren, Annika Martin, Need You Now, Top Shelf Romance LLC:
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Video games To repeat a task a large number of times in a row to achieve a specific goal.
These enemies give lots of loot when killed, so many players fight them to grind for resources.
The first level of the game is the best place to grind extra lives.
3 more examples
For a while I used to grind demons and try to get the count higher.
Similarly, nearly all massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as Dungeons & Dragons Online, feature grind: Players repeat tasks, or often “quests”, to gain in-game currency to spend on weapons or other ancillary items.2013, Will Luton, Free-to-Play: Making Money From Games You Give Away, New Riders, →ISBN, page 38:
To extend the variety past that, you'll need to unlock new units in each class, meaning you have to grind through the rather lengthy process of using every one of your class’ weapons and skills significantly across several matches.2015 February 14, Steven Strom, “Evolve Review: Middle of the food chain”, in Ars Technica:
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To operate by turning a crank.
to grind an organ
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To produce mechanically and repetitively as if by turning a crank.
One evening, during evening work, Charlie was trying hard to do the verses which had been set to his form. […] Wilton, whose conduct had been more impertinent than that of any one else, said to Charlie— “I say, young Evson, how you are grinding.” “I have these verses to do,” said Charlie simply.1862, Frederic W. Farrar, St. Winifred's: or the World of School:
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Slang To annoy or irritate (a person); to grind one's gears.
I need to pontificate on something that really grinds me. So here goes. I am sick and tired of lazy thinkers using the defense of “legislated morality.”2003, Steven Wunderink, Minding Your Spiritual Business: Life Stories with Life Sense, page 139:
Etymology From Middle English grynden, from Old English grindan (“to grind”), from Proto-West Germanic *grindan, from Proto-Germanic *grindaną (“to crush, grind”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian gríende, griene (“to grind, mill”), West Frisian grintsje (“to crush, punish”), Dutch grinden (“to grind”, rare) and grind (“gravel, shingle”), Albanian grind (“to brawl, fight”).
The act of reducing to powder, or of sharpening, by friction.
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Something that has been reduced to powder, something that has been ground.
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A specific degree of pulverization of coffee beans.
This bag contains espresso grind.
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A tedious and laborious task.
This homework is a grind.
Running again in more open agricultural country, the Harrogate line encounters a short downgrade before the stiff uphill grind to Harrogate begins.1961 February, D. Bertram, “The lines to Wetherby and their traffic”, in Trains Illustrated, page 101:
If you are at all bright, don't be a grind. Grinding may make a second-hand genius of you (for all the real things are dead), and if you become a genius you will be sure to smoke dope or swallow laudanum. They all did it.1900, “Gifford Arthur Nelson”, in The Naughty-Naughtian, page 118:
[…] I suppose I don't know much about books, compared with you—” “Oh, I was never much of a grind,” the other cut in hastily.1911, Sunset, volume 27, page 440:
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Entertainment, Lifestyle, MusicAbbreviation, Clipping Clipping of grindcore (“subgenre of heavy metal”).
I've been on the grind all week, trying to make ends meet.
Everyone has to work, they mourned, and that takes its toll. They weren't glamourising the grind because they knew their effort didn't match the supposed rewards.2023 September 20, Lucy Ford, “How pop-music's hustle culture anthem was made redundant”, in GQ: